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First Name: James

Last Name: Via

Birthplace: Abilene, TX, USA

Gender: Male



Branch: U.S. Army Air Forces (1941 - 1947)



Home of Record: Happy, TX
Middle Name: Edwin



Date of Birth: 24 August 1920

Date of Death: 04 June 1942 (Official)

MIA Date: 04 June 1942

Rank: Sergeant

Years Served:
James Edwin Via

   
Engagements:
•  World War II (1941 - 1945)

Biography:

James Edwin Via
Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces

On 4 June 1942, Sergeant James Edwin Via was serving as Bombardier and Gunner on a B-26 Marauder Bomber of the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22nd Bombardment Group (Medium), Far East Air Force (Detached), U.S. Army Air Forces.

[Note: The unit information in the paragraph above is from the DSC Citation. However, the American Battle Monuments Commission lists the unit as the 394th Bomber Squadron, 5th Bomber Group (Heavy). That is also the information listed on Court 5 of the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, Honolulu County, HI.]

On that day, SGT Via’s aircraft was in aerial action against Japanese Naval forces near Midway Island during the Battle of Midway. The success of the torpedo-bombing mission against the Japanese Navy was entirely dependent on the skill, courageousness, and unfaltering devotion to duty of the crew members of the airplanes participating. These crew members entered into the attack at great personal risk to their own lives in the face of concentrated gunfire of the Japanese Naval forces and fighter planes. During this first torpedo attack ever carried out by the Army Air Forces, SGT Via’s bomber, was lost. SGT Via’s courageous actions and extraordinary heroism that day earned him, at the cost of his life, the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart
Army Good Conduct Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Aerial Gunner Badge

Distinguished Service Cross Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Sergeant James Edwin Via (ASN: 6296877), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Bombardier and Gunner on a B-26 Medium Bomber of the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22d Bombardment Group (M), FAR EAST Air Force (Detached), in aerial action against enemy surface forces on 4 June 1942, during an engagement near Midway Island. Sergeant Via displayed extraordinary heroism during a torpedo-bombing mission against the Japanese Navy. The success of the mission was dependent entirely upon the skill, courageousness, and unfaltering devotion to duty of the crew members of the airplanes participating who unhesitatingly entered into the attack at great personal risk to their own lives in the face of concentrated gunfire of the Japanese Naval forces and fighter planes. During this, the first torpedo attack ever carried out by the Army Air Forces, the airplane on which Sergeant Via was bombardier and gunner, was lost. The personal courage and zealous devotion to duty displayed by Sergeant Via on this occasion, at the cost of his life, have upheld the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Far East Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

Headquarters, Hawaiian Department, U.S. Army, General Orders No. 117 (1942)

Memorialization

The remains of Sergeant James Edwin Via have never been located. He is memorialized by having his name inscribed on Court 5 of the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, Honolulu County, HI.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56134349/james-edwin-via



Honoree ID: 103743   Created by: MHOH

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